Amy’s Kitchen

Amy’s Kitchen Workers Protested Their Working Conditions

October 22, 2022 Emily Janakiram , In These Times. Educate! Amy's Kitchen, Retaliation, Worker Rights and Jobs, Working Conditions

Organic convenience foods brand Amy’s Kitchen maintains a carefully constructed image of ethical consumption and saving the planet, one vegan frozen burrito at a time. The company is owned by the Berliner family, and its website makes much out of being a small, family-owned business, with pictures of the founders joyfully making pot pies and surfing. “We choose what’s best for our customers, our farmers, our employees and our planet,” the website reads. “It’s a tall order, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.” But Amy’s has been under fire the past year as startling labor practices have come to light. On July 18, the California-based manufacturer of organic convenience foods closed its new San Jose plant — less than a year and a half after it opened its doors; workers had been in the process of organizing with Unite Here Local 19, which represents food service and hospitality workers in the Silicon Valley.

Amy’s Kitchen Faces Multiple Unfair Labor Practice Charges

June 25, 2022 Angela Bunay, Labor Notes. Organize! Amy's Kitchen, California, union busting, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

The spirit of unionizing is in the air, from Amazon to Starbucks. Now the workers in two frozen food factories in California are getting in on the action. But they're facing serious union-busting from their employer, Amy's Kitchen, despite its progressive branding. Amy’s Kitchen is the sixth-largest maker of organic frozen meals in the United States and the top U.S. producer of organic vegetarian food, according to the North Bay Business Journal. The company employs more than 2,000 workers, a majority of them Central American immigrants who do not speak English. On June 1, UNITE HERE Local 19, representing the workers of Amy’s Kitchen in San Jose, filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against the food company.

The Labor Disputes At Amy’s Kitchen, Explained

April 8, 2022 Jaya Saxena, Eater. Resist! Amy's Kitchen, Food and Agriculture, Worker Rights and Jobs, Workplace Safety

“We’re now proudly B Corp certified!” chirps a green banner on the homepage of Amy’s Kitchen, the organic packaged and prepared-foods giant. It’s positioned above an image of the company’s founders, the Berliner family — Andy, who is currently the CEO of Amy’s Kitchen, with his wife Rachel and their daughter, Amy, after whom the company is named — dressed in down vests and worn-in scarves, smiling and windswept in front of a blue sky. “B Corp certification is awarded to businesses that use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: Positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment,” Amy’s explains in a blog post from March 2021. “The B Corp community works toward reducing inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose.”

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